It had been three years since his first pet, and Sasuke wasn't looking to repeat the fateful events all those nights ago. So it was with a sullen attitude that he stared quietly out the window, watching the world flash by as Lord Fugaku Uchiha drove the car onward, toward the latest show. His brother, Itachi, rode in the front passenger seat, speaking animatedly with their father, oblivious to, or perhaps just ignoring, the twenty one year old in the backseat who refused to utter a single word in conversation.

After all, he'd made his argument: he didn't want a pet, and he didn't want a slave. He didn't want a sex toy, he didn't want a servant; he just wanted to be left alone. Why no one would listen to him, he couldn't answer. So here he sat, scowling as the car pulled off the road and down into an underground parking garage. Their speed dropped as Fugaku found a spot closer to the doors, and finally pulled the car into the parking space. Sasuke was reluctant to get out, but after some rather harsh encouragement, (mostly Fugaku saying they were going to leave him there if he couldn't find a pet) he leisurely stepped out of the sedan and stretched his legs.

The entire walk to the auction went quietly, with Sasuke lost in thought. Itachi only had one pet he kept under lock and key that not even the family was allowed to see, and Sasuke had his doubts there was even a pet anymore. Somehow though, the thought seemed to placate their father, which made this outing all about him; and Sasuke hated having the spotlight on him. He supposed it was better to be brought up in a clan that owned rather than a family that was sold out, but still. He had no use for one, nor did he have the time or patience. Well if he had to do this to please his father... he supposed he'd get the one that could fend for themselves and let them do just that.

Screw tradition.

The walk to the auction room was long, and the closer they got, the more wealthy clan members got in their way, slowing their pace. They still had a good hour until it started, but the ever prudent Uchiha clan could not be late, for fear of their Lord's wrath. So they weaved in and out and around the people standing and talking, and eventually the long, underground hallway opened up into a beautifully structured room.

Attention was first drawn toward the cages on either side of the entrance, each with a naked pet housed inside. Some were scowling, protecting what shreds of modesty they might have left, and others were trying to show themselves off, hoping to get sold to a good home. Others yet were trying to catch the attention of perhaps friends or family, claiming unjust and unfair treatment or about human rights. Sasuke had no sympathy; if they couldn't keep themselves out of this situation, there was no point in being freed to end up at square one a year later.

No, his eyes moved over the caged beasts with the eyes of a hawk, looking for any kind of personality that would be able to care for itself, but through the sea of metal bars and clans doing the same thing he was, he wasn't able to find what he was looking for before Fugaku pulled him away, to the front of the room. Past the cages, the floor opened up to a large seating area that ramped downward until it arrived at the stage, which sat high upon a large and wide pedestal, prime for showing off merchandise. Sasuke rolled his eyes as he took his seat; fine. He'd do this the hard way.

They sat there for what felt like hours, and Sasuke refused to partake in the conversation between his father and brother, or the people who came up to speak with the famous Uchihas. It was only when the lights dimmed that everyone found their seats, and Sasuke was able to lean back in his seat, his eyes scanning the stage. The red velvet curtain slowly swung open after a few minutes, and a spotlight appeared to the side, where Joutou, one of the auctioneers appeared, waving to the crowd and giving his entire intro of how the auction worked to new-comers.

Slaves are escorted on stage, and shown off to potential buyers. A short description of their previous home and owner are given. Inspect only from your seats, now that the auction had started. Bidding starts at ten grand a pet. Highest bidder walks out with the pet on spot. Typical rules. With a sigh, Sasuke tried to keep his eyes open and stave off a yawn as the first pet was shown in. She was a lanky woman, with dirty blonde hair, with all but her head completely shaved, and only had a pair of rope tied around her wrists. She walked numbly beside her escort, a burly man with broad shoulders who probably had a taser for the more unruly slaves. Still, she gave him no trouble, acting like a marionette as he guided her across the stage and turned her around for the viewers.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Fugaku smirking and nudging Itachi, saying something Sasuke didn't bother to catch. Probably he was going to bid on the well used whore. He could only roll his eyes after the bidding started, and Fugaku's fan was the first to go up.

That was how the night started. Wave after wave of fresh meat, the clans would bid and take their prizes, until there were only a few clans left in the crowd, and only one slave to go. At this point, Sasuke could tell he was starting to invoke Fugaku's fury, as many times he'd leaned over and pointed out some boy or girl on stage and said they would make a nice pet for him. He, of course, had declined. They were all too demure, and would require too much care and thought, but he hadn't said that to his father. Oh no. To say that would be worse than to leave here empty handed.

So he grit his teeth and waited, and finally, the last slave was shown in. Unlike the ones before, however, the boy who was escorted caught his attention. It wasn't the dirty brown hair, and it wasn't the slash marks on his cheeks, or any other part of his body for that matter. It was the heavy chains that bound his entire body, making him have to waddle to keep up with his escort.

Things happened quick enough that as soon as it was over, Sasuke was left in a daze of trying to understand exactly what had happened. As far as he knew, the boy's escort had said something to the auctioneer, and the boy had turned around and tried to bite his hand, he thought. The action only earned him a swift thrust of the escort's hand, and in that moment the brunette was eating dust on the stage, his head jammed into the hard wood floor and kept there by the escorts foot. Joutou took it in stride, however, going so far as to laugh, and use that as the opening into his introduction.

"Sorry about the commotion, ladies and gentlemen, but here we have our last slave of the day. A feisty one, as you can tell. While his previous owner is unknown, we have taken him through an entire scan and his body is as healthy as any of us, minus a little bodily abuse here and there. No diseases to speak of, and certainly he's got a mouth on him. He's still untrained, and waiting on a home. But! Think fast, ladies and gentlemen, because this is his last round. By house rules, if he doesn't leave in someone's car today, he's leaving in a body bag tomorrow! Let's start, shall we?"

Fugaku had already stood to leave, with Itachi following suit, and Sasuke sat there for a few seconds, giving the crowd a chance, wondering if this would go his way. Sure enough, no fans were raised. Slowly, he felt a smirk rise on his lips, even as Joutou frowned and called out the first warning.

"Going once..." and "Are you coming?" hit his ears at once, but he paid no attention to either, as he held up his flag, catching the auctioneer's attention.

As Joutou rambled on about a first bet, trying to get others to bid on the struggling boy, Fugaku leaned down and hissed in his ear,

"What do you think you're doing? You know it's just a gimmick they use every now and then, right? Do you really feel that sorry for that thing?"

"I want him." was all Sasuke responded with, making sure not to make eye contact with his father.

He did think he saw Itachi smirking silently out of the corner of his eye, but he tried to keep his gaze straight, focused on the eyes of the body on the floor who's own gaze shot up, looking around the room for whomever had bid on him. Finally, at last call, when no one else had stepped up to the plate, their eyes locked just as soon as Joutou merrily shouted,

"Sold, to the Young Lord Uchiha, for an easy ten grand. And that's it, ladies and gentlemen; come collect your new belongings if you haven't already, and be safe on your way home!"

Then it was all over and done with, the rest of the straggling heads rising from their sitting positions and heading toward the door, even as the final pet was lifted off the floor, snarling and growling at his escort, even as he was yanked toward the direction of the Uchiha table. Sasuke waited patiently, more so than his frustrated father standing behind him, as his new pet was dragged over to where they sat and unceremoniously dumped at his feet. The boy huffed in pain, what sounded like his shoulder popping during the landing even as his escort gave a deep bow to the three of them before returning to the stage and disappearing through the closing curtains.

Sasuke leaned down to pick up the remaining chain used as a leash and gently tugged on it, as a signal for the boy to rise, but he stayed on the ground, giving Sasuke a death glare even as he heard his father huff frustratedly before turning around.

"Bring it to the car." he said over his shoulder, as he walked toward the back, to collect the demure slave they'd first shown.

Itachi, however, lingered, helping the boy onto his feet despite his struggles, and earning and odd look from Sasuke. His brother only shrugged, saying quietly,

"You're going to have to train him. You know that, right?"

This time, Sasuke imitated Itachi's shrug, saying easily,

"Don't worry about it. I have my reasons."

Strangely enough, Itachi's lips pulled upward into a knowing smirk that only irritated Sasuke. What the hell was he thinking? Obviously he knew something, but why would he smirk if he knew what Sasuke was doing? His brother didn't give him a chance to question it, however, before he too turned and started toward the direction of the parking lot, leaving Sasuke to sigh. Whatever.

"Come on." he said to the boy, yanking on the chain as he turned to follow his brother, only to have his arm yanked back as the boy dug in his feet and refused to move.

Sasuke's eyebrows arched as he turned back to look at the boy; how did he have the strength and balance to stand encased in those chains? Looking him up and down again, it was obvious he had muscle on him, despite his skinny frame and ribs that were starting to poke out of his sides. His body was well toned, if not a little pale from lack of sunlight, but it was the striking blue eyes that caught him. They were centered completely on him, baring into his soul with a death glare that almost sent a shiver down Sasuke's spine.

For a moment, he wondered what he'd gotten himself into, before he pushed the feelings back, and brought his own deadened fire into his eyes, staring back at the boy for a few seconds before the boy's body shrank back an inch. There. Now that he'd gotten his attention, he yanked the chain again, even though he himself didn't move. It took a few moments, but finally the boy's gaze slid away from Sasuke's eyes to the ground, and he began to waddle forward, albeit with a low growl in his throat.

A win was a win, regardless of how it happened. Sasuke turned around himself and lead the boy out, toward where Fugaku had parked.

The ride home was eerily quiet, with Sasuke and his new pet sitting sullenly in the backseat, and Itachi and Fugaku up front, like always. There was no music, no windows rolled down for air, and no talk to fill the silence. Yeah, his father was angry with him. Maybe he should have just followed through with his original plan and said none of the slaves piqued his interest; maybe that would have gotten him in less trouble. The damage was done now, though, so he guessed he had to live with it.

His eyes slipped over to the boy again, noticing how pale his face was this time around, and how he kept his gaze directed to the back of the seat in front of him, rocking slightly with the car. Was he sick? His eyes seemed too wide for him to be sick, but his pallor...

"When we get home, you're going up to your room to study for your exams."

Sasuke winced, dragging his eyes to meet his father's in the rearview mirror. They were staring hard at him, but somehow lacked the dangerous glint that the boy's had in the auction house. With a sigh, he turned to glance out the window, saying meekly,

"Yes father."

"Then you're going to train your new slave."

"Yes father."

"Does he have a name?"

"No father."

"Does he even speak?"

Sasuke wasn't sure how to answer this. Thinking about it a little more, he hadn't heard a single word out of the boy, even when he was up on stage. He turned back to the brunette, giving him an odd look, questioning silently his use of vocalization, but the boy seemed near traumatized, never taking his eyes off the back of Fugaku's seat. With a sigh, Sasuke finally answered,

"I don't think so."

"Then I want to hear him screaming by tonight."

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead turned his gaze out the window, the conditioned response flooding to his tongue,

"Yes father."

Great. More work.

They had just pulled into the drive moments ago, with Fugaku exiting the car without another word to either of his sons; instead, he opened up the trunk and dumped the frail woman he had bought onto the gravel, kicking her once in the side as a signal to get up and move, which she did in a hurry. Itachi was slower to get out of the car, instead seeming to find it hilarious that Sasuke kept tugging on the chain to what seemed to be an immobile rock. No amount of coaxing or ordering would get him to tear his widened gaze away from the back of the driver's seat, and with a sigh, Sasuke finally yanked the chain hard enough to break the daze and launch the boy into a heap on his side's floor board.

He heard the growl and his mind flashed back to the stage, and pure instinct shot his hand down to the boy's head, gripping the brown hair and yanking his head up at an awkward angle, even as he heard the sound of a jaw snapping shut. The boy growled louder and again, their eyes locked in a heated stare as they silently battled will against will.

This time, it took a good five minutes before the growl finally faded and the boy averted his eyes; around the same time Itachi finally closed his door and started for the house. Sasuke, already feeling drained from the day, had to fight back a yawn even as he opened his door wider and stepped out, yanking the chain a bit more to signal he was supposed to do the same. The growl started up again, and that moment, Sasuke realized why. The chains were cutting into his flesh, ripping open the dirty skin and caking blood around areas that had been ripped raw and tried to heal over. On top of that, he really was bound to where he couldn't move his arms, and could do nothing more than try to worm his way out of the car face first.

Feeling a little pity, Sasuke reached in and hefted the boy out, having to use most of his strength to do so. For being lean and un-fed, the boy still had some weight to him. Once he was standing outside the car, Sasuke closed the door and lead him into the house. He noticed right away when they walked through the threshold that the growl stopped midway through. When he glanced back, the boy's eyes had once more gone wide, looking around the large foyer. It surely wasn't anything special, and surely wasn't the best the money they had could buy, but it was probably far more than this boy had ever seen in his life.

For a moment, Sasuke himself looked around, trying to appreciate how it must look to the brunette's eyes, with the decorations and the chandeliers and the spiral staircase, but gave up after a few moments. He'd grown up with this; it wasn't anything new, and it wasn't anything special. Without thinking, he tugged on the chain again, and led him toward the stairs.

Stairs were a pain to get him up, with his lack of movement, but after about fifteen minutes, they finally arrived on the forth floor, where Sasuke's room was. A few more feet and they were in his room, and he threw the chain to the side, closing and locking the door. Instantly he moved to his second closet, the one Fugaku had stocked for him, and threw the doors open wide, searching for a few moments before finding what he was looking for. He took hold of the chain cutters and lifted them out of their home, turning around to face the boy who automatically shrunk back against the wall.

Sasuke's brow arched, but he continue forward, toward the shaking body even as he said slowly,

"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just going to take the chains off. Okay?"

He stared at the boy for a moment before saying again,

"Okay?"

When the boy finally nodded, he set to work at cutting the chains, taking care not to damage the skin further. As the metal fell away, they revealed a lot more damage than was evident before, especially deep gashes, burns, and welts that had yet to heal. Sasuke sighed when he was finished, shaking his head and tossing the cutters onto the floor, promising to himself he'd take care of them later. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and started guiding him to the west door, opening it for him when they got there. Again, he watched the boy's eyes go wide at the large bathroom, but Sasuke didn't give him time to adjust, simply pushing him further in before letting him go.

Leaning over the edge of the tub, Sasuke turned on the faucet, heating the water up to a nice temperature, before gathering a wash cloth, a couple towels, shampoo, and soap. He set the items around the tub before gesturing for the boy to get in. The look he got in return was hostile, suspicious, and fear, all in one, only making Sasuke arch his brows again. Just what had he gotten himself into with this one? Maybe trying to skew the odds to give him less work had only made more work for him in the long run...?

Great. That idea put him in a sour mood.

"Just get in. It's not going to hurt you; this time." he said impatiently, only to see the fear in the boy's eyes begin to win against the other emotions.

Whoops. He hadn't meant to say something like that, but at least the boy was moving now, walking over to the tub and gingerly stepping in. After a few seconds of fiddling around, he eventually sank into the water, almost instantly relaxing against the cool porcelain. The water instantly discolored, wrinkling Sasuke's nose in disgust, and instead of keeping the tub stopped up, he reached in and unplugged it, turning on the shower head and removing the nozzle from its perch. Fine, they'd do this the hard way.

So Sasuke began to wash the boy down, watching as grime and blood and dirt fell away from smooth skin, before he started with the hair. The instant the water touched it, however, Sasuke felt his heart skip once.

His hair was blonde. He wasn't sure why that mattered, but for some reason, it did. Blonde hair, blue eyes...

Maybe this wasn't going to be such a bad thing after all.